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Tanya Marie Vlach

San Francisco, CA

The same day Hurricane Katrina hit, Tanya Vlach was driving on the other side of the country in Northern California on her way to one of the largest arts festivals in the world. At dusk she was found unconscious from a traumatic accident. Tanya barel... view more

  1. on December 15
    Img_9388 - version 2.thumb Backer

    Tanya Marie Vlach
    backed a project

    La Pocha Nostra's conceptual live art credit union by La Pocha Nostra

    La Pocha Nostra invites individual donations to bring the international troupe together to create LPN's next live performance.

    • 105% funded $10,560 pledged
    • 158 backers
    • Funded Dec 17, 2011
  2. on August 3, 2011
    Funded!

    Grow a New Eye by Tanya Marie Vlach

    Grow a New Eye - 1. Engineering an eye-camera. After Tanya lost her eye in a car accident in 2005, she began imagining a bionic one.

    • 130% funded $19,631 pledged
    • 318 backers
    • Funded Aug 03, 2011
  3. on August 2, 2011
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    Tanya Marie Vlach
    Posted project update #4

    24 hours to go! SF Event tonight! and 1 million updates yet to come.

    24 hours to go! SF Event tonight! and 1 million updates yet to come.

    Thanks to you and the generous donation of Square Enix, a couple of large donations by Individuals, and countless of donations from all over the world — we made our Kickstarter goal, meaning we will be able to fund the development of the prototype of an eye-camera.- but again this is the minimal for just stage one of building the prototype. We definitely need more than 100k for it to be a viable device! So we need to keep raising money!

    So for our final 24 hour window we want to celebrate with you tonight before the deadline tomorrow!

    But we are so incredibly thrilled we reached our Kickstarter goal! There are still 24 hours to go and we are hoping to raise over 1K to reach a 20K mark. Besides helping create a sustainable enterprise; this will go to planning other aspects of EyeTanya’s mission: Interactive Website (A Bionics and Healing Resource for the Visually Impaired & Disabled,) Graphic Novel,  Experimental Documentary, Interactive performances, ETC.

    There are so many things to update you all about.  But there hasn’t been time for me to sit down and blog – I guess that’s a good thing when life takes you galloping and all you have are the reigns, and the knowledge at some point you will have time for a breather and reflection. But the meantime, I’m back from a brief stint in NY just in time for
    our GROW A NEW EYE, SF event tonight!

    Hope to see you there!

    ~tanya

    EVENT DETAILS: http://growaneweyesf.eventbrite.com/

    The evening is guaranteed to stir the imagination. There will be music, video installations, film screenings and heated discussions about the possibilities and limitations of technology on the human body.

    Live Streaming

    The Retro-Future Experience with performances by

    Project Agora

    Haggai Cohen Milo

    IMPORTANT NOTE ABOUT TICKETING:

    Entry is via donating on Kickstarter. If you have already backed the project on our Kickstarter campaign at the $25 level or higher, your name will be on the Will Call list.

    To purchase a ticket in advance, back our project at the $25 level or highter at: http://kck.st/jOsMw0.

    All walk-ins are welcome but you will be asked to contribute via Kickstarter at the door! Of course if you want to pay cash only – we won’t turn you away!

    http://www.EyeTanya.com/

    Follow on Twitter: @TanyaVlach @EyeTanya

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      1. Danbrd.thumb
        Dan Pritchett on January 12

        Any more updates to come, or was this it?


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  4. on August 1, 2011
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    Tanya Marie Vlach
    commented on a project

    Thanks for coming out Mark! It was great to meet you!
  5. on July 30, 2011
    Img_9388 - version 2.thumb Backer

    Tanya Marie Vlach
    backed a project

    The Death of Radio Bandido: A Chicano Mystery by Pepe Urquijo

    For 17 years there has been no explanation as to how my buddy Oscar Gomez died in Santa Barbara. This is my attempt to figure out why.

    Funding Unsuccessful (07/31/2011)
  6. on July 28, 2011
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    Tanya Marie Vlach
    commented on a project

    Heather - Your positive vibes have definitely helped! Thank you! Maybe you could escort us to the X Prize headquarters next time we're in town, eh? Be our guide? Good luck to you, girl. Raleigh - You did it! We all did it. You are hereby an honorary EyeTanyaBorg. Thank you! And Steve - Thanks for the congratulations. We're celebrating in New York this Sunday (7/31) and in SF on Tuesday (8/2) Wherever you are, we hope you'll make it out to one of those two events, if not in person than via live stream. More details available on our latest Update 3: Holy Bionic Eyeball!
  7. on July 28, 2011
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    Tanya Marie Vlach
    Posted project update #3

    Holy Bionic Eyeball!

    Whoa! Grow a New Eye has met it's goal and will be funded! We are yelling from rooftops that the future is possible. 

    Yesterday we received a hefty donation from the folks at Square Enix, a donation that sent us over the edge. At first we thought "Square Enix" might be a pen name for a donor who wished to remain anonymous. It turns out that's not the case and Square Enix, the gaming company responsible for the famed game: Deus Ex (!) has backed our project. There is an obvious symmetry between the themes of augmentation in their game and what Tanya is attempting to do in real life. Much potential in future collaboration! Square Enix's reward  is a souvenir eye-camera (batteries not included)! Thanks infinitely for taking us beyond our funding goal, guys!

    Other extremely generous donors include Christopher Bently of the Bently Reserve and Brice Robertson of Berkeley Bionics! 

    And thanks to EVERY ONE of you who has donated your hard-earned money, and spread the word to your friends, family and colleagues. Thank you for your spirit, for believing in this hair-brain idea and for sending this story on to it's next chapter. 

    But it ain't over 'til it's over. We still have 6 days to go before the end of our Kickstarter chapter so thanks for continuing to spread the word! If you have donated please let people know on FB, Twitter, or on the bus that you were part of making a bionic camera eye. We hope you'll stay along for the ride because this is truly just the start of our journey.  

    As a crowdfunded effort, this project is definitely yours too. That's why we'd like to invite NY backers who have donated at the $20 level or above to join us for a celebration on Sunday, July 31 at the Brooklyn Winery in Williamsburg. Tanya's in New York until Monday and she'd like to thank all of you New York backers in person. Special highlights will include a video installation, live video projections from supporters of our project and a silent auction including a signed print from notorious photographer Dan Winters. Then on Tuesday, August 2nd, she'll return to the fog for a celebration at Kunst-Stoff Arts in San Francisco with live performances by Project Agora and Haggai Cohen Milo. Your name is on that guest list too.

    If you've backed at a lower tier and would like to attend one or both (you jet-setter, you) of these events, you can adjust the amount of money you've donated online or pay the difference at the door. Or if you are strapped for cash (totally understandle) and you still want to come you can help us out at the event. We can use all the help we can get. 

    PLEASE NOTE: Everyone of you who have donated anything at all ($1 and up) will be sent a private message with a link to attend the live streaming footage of the event from wherever you are in the world.

    Thanks for making this dream a reality. I'm thrilled you helped us on the way. The better to see you with my dears. 

    In gratitude,
     
    EyeTanya
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  8. on July 27, 2011
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    Tanya Marie Vlach
    Posted project update #2

    Sooo Close!

    Hey Kickstarter Supporters!

    Thank you so so SO much for supporting our  Grow A New Eye campaign. Over the past month, we've been overwhelmed by your generous donations not to mention the unanticipated media buzz on Engadget, Gizmodo and the Huffington Post. From $1 donations to a $4K donation that just came in yesterday, every dollar has helped bring us closer to making this vision (no pun intended) a reality. Your messages have warmed, inspired and challenged us! Let's keep the conversation going:

    • EyeTanya has also branched off from Tanya's personal Twitter account! Please, if you tweet, follow the project at www.twitter.com/eyetanya and let us know if you've donated with #growaneweye
    • Also, we love your little online avatars but we'd love you more in person. We are having two events--One on Sunday, July 31 in NYC and then on Tues, August 2 in SF! This event is for all of you who have donated at the $20 level or higher. The events will be streaming live, so everyone else who has donated $1 and up will be sent a private link to be a part of the event remotely. Tanya, herself will send you a special update about these two events shortly.

    We're 87% away from our &15k goal to begin building the prototype for the camera eye prosthesis. Thanks for giving us a shout out on your various social media channels  If we can make it to 15k great! But this is just a stepping stone.  If we can make more, it will allow us to bring on a team of engineers and medical consultants to take this vision even farther. This is just the beginning in reframing the discourse around disability.

    Thanks again for all of your incredible support and enthusiasm! We won't forget!

    ~EyeTanya

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  9. on July 16, 2011
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    Tanya Marie Vlach
    commented on a project

    James - This is a terrific idea. The Idea of a competition is an idea I've been thinking about! Do you know anyone over at X Foundation?? ~tanya
  10. on July 13, 2011
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    Tanya Marie Vlach
    Posted project update #1

    Grow a New Eye Kickstarter Update!

    Hi - sorry for the long LONG pause before my first update. June was a hectic month!

    For International Donors who have had a problem donating through Amazon I found this from another Kickstarter:

    "For those of you outside the U.S. who have tried to back my Kickstarter project and cannot because Amazon “sometimes” has problems with foreign accounts… I finally received a response from Kickstarter – they are aware of this problem and said Amazon offered them this inelegant solution: Have the person start a new account at Amazon to make the payment from. It should go through no problem.  Sorry! I hope that helps you guys!"

    News:

    July 13th - Gizmodo.com http://gizmodo.com/5820839/nows-your-chance-to-buy-a-bionic-camera-eye-for-a-lady

    July 10th - Engadget.com http://www.engadget.com/2011/07/10/insert-coin-prosthetic-eye-digital-camera-video/

    July 9th - Tecmundo.com.br http://www.tecmundo.com.br/11415-olho-bionico-promete-dar-zoom-e-ate-gravar-em-hd.htm

    We are 38% funded for the Grow a New Eye Kickstarter campaign  and I’m thrilled that you all have contributed as much as you did - we are still a ways off and have 20 days left!  Seriously stressful stuff.

    I’m continuing to collect the suggestions and will post the highlights in each update. Video update is coming!

    1. First I want to clear up that this project by no means entail connecting to my occipital lobe to regain sight in my left eye. This is invasive surgery and I’ve been told I’m not a candidate anyway - my Grow a new eye project is primarily a technological artistic experiment, transforming something that was lost into another type of seeing device.

    2. Grow a new eye is phase one in engineering the eye-camera. This will entail building a bread board to make sure all the parts work together. In other words it will take some time and more funding to get the technology to work and be small enough to fit inside my prosthesis.

    3. Battery Power - is one of the biggest challenges with the project.
    In terms of heat, size, and affect on the body.
    Spoke with an engineer today who specializes in battery and wireless power,

    And he mentioned energy harvesting - sounds pretty darn cool.

    4. One of the earliest suggestions was using silicone for the prosthesis instead of Acrylic- this is the first I heard of a silicone eye-prosthesis and I’m open to experimentation. I think the upside to silicone is that it may handle higher temperature than acrylic.

    5. I am looking to build a community forum for my website on EyeTanya’s Community Page this will separate the One-Eyed comments and the Engineering suggestions and inquiries (there will also be an art section). I'd like place for all of the new and old info to go and to be organized. Currently my website is still wordpress.com and I need to migrate to wordpress.org

    6. Thanks all who have contributed - complete list up til the minute is added to the BACKER Page on my EyeTanya.com website! UBER GRATEFUL - video updates coming I swear. And I can’t wait to get you your EyeTanya schwag.

    7. Call to action: please tell your friends! or someone who you think might be interested in the project. We accept $1 donations and $5000 donations and anything in between.

    8. If you donated you are invited to attend an exclusive event in NY July 30th and/ or San Francisco August 2nd (the day before the end of the campaign.
    And if you haven’t donated you are invited to contribute via Kickstarter at the door!

    9. Yes, I know who the EYEBORG is! We've met and our cyborg rivalry continues - he is not interested in collaborating. So I say let the best WOman win!

    While I'm teasing; our projects are different and both of us have something to offer in terms of our unique perspectives. I'm open to collaborate in the future if a Cyborg peace offer is made. :)

    10. Other things: Open source!

    Much appreciated! 

    See you on the flip side!

    ~tanya
    EyeTanya.com

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